Lawyers For Children’s Rights

Lawyers for Children is a lead child advocacy organization protecting the rights of children who are victims of abuse; abandonment and neglect by providing quality pro bono legal representation and collaborating for systematic change to improve the lives of children.

* To implement services that will help children and youth who are victims of abuse and neglect; * To increase pro bono efforts on behalf of children by establishing institutional commitment on the part of major law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, national, state and local bar associations and universities, and by establishing local affiliates of Lawyers for Children across to support that commitment; * To improve the child welfare system in coordination with other national and local organizations; * To increase public awareness of issues related to youth and violence.

We hope to expand Lawyers For Children’s Rights programs in additional communities in the coming years. Please send us an email if you wish to see a program established in your community.

Lawyers For Children is at their side to provide protection, support and hope. In addition to free legal and social work services for children in foster care, Lawyers For Children provides targeted public policy and class action advocacy to achieve system-wide changes in the field of child welfare.

In most states, for legal purposes, a child is a person under the age of 18. A few states set the age of majority at 17 or 19. Children who are living with their parents have the right to receive basic needs from them. Otherwise, the state must provide those services.

Parents Must Provide Basic Necessities

All states have laws requiring that parents provide basic necessities for their children. As a parent, you must at least provide food, clothing, housing, and health care. If you don’t provide these necessities, the government can step in. Child Protective Services, which has different names in different states) can provide help to the family, take the child out of the home, or even ask a judge to terminate your parental rights.

Children Have Rights While in Foster Care

The state must make sure those children in foster care have their basic needs met and that they are protected from abuse and neglect. Children have the right to be placed in a stable environment and to be placed in a permanent home, if possible.

Disabled Children Have a Right to Education

Disabled children have the right to a free, appropriate public education. Schools receiving federal funding must ensure that disabled children receive regular or special education designed to meet their needs as adequately as the school meets the needs of non-disabled students.

Children Have the Right to Legal Counsel

Like adults, children have the right to an attorney under certain circumstances. When accused of a crime, for example, they have the right to legal representation. If the parents can’t afford an attorney, the judge will appoint one at no cost to the parents. In 28 states and the District of Columbia, judges must appoint an attorney for the child in cases where the parents are accused of abuse or neglect.

Children Have the Right to Inherit From Their Parents

If you leave a will, you can name the people who will inherit your belongings. If you don’t make a will, though, the state decides who gets your property. All states have laws stating that natural and adopted children inherit from their parents. In some states, an adopted child can inherit from both the natural and the adoptive parents.

A Family Lawyer Can Help

The law surrounding the legal rights of children is complicated. Plus, the facts of each case are unique. This article provides a brief, general introduction to the topic. For more detailed, specific information, please contact a family law lawyer.

An attorney believes that children have certain inalienable human rights. We believe children have the right to live free of sexual or physical abuse, to learn free of bullying, and to live free of avoidable injuries when adults are in charge of their care. We fight hard through litigation to keep children safe and happy.

Other child advocate attorneys serve as special education advocates representing parents and children of special needs in issues concerning services and treatment by school districts to ensure that these children receive an appropriate public education as provided by law. Advocates also counsel children and their parents or guardians about accessing resources and understanding their legal rights.

Finally, child advocates research legislative proposals and lobby state legislatures on behalf of Lawyers For Children’s Rights. Reforms in the juvenile justice system are always at issue, as are student rights regarding the authority of school districts.